Home MTC/First Email

 "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." 

What a start of the week. I am so pumped to be a missionary! This week has been cool. Getting set apart was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I will never forget it. The Lord's work is real, and I can't wait to spread it for the next two years. 

Don't get me wrong, home MTC isn't necessarily all sunshine and rainbows. 8 hours of meetings, an hour of companion study, an hour of personal study, an hour of language study... It's kind of a lot. I've found myself dozing off or getting distracted, however, the spirit always drowns that out. It seems like every time I start to be distracted, I feel the spirit strongly and my attention is reeled back in (much like the fish I was reeling in during my daydream). Please don't call me weird for that joke. I promise I'm not weird yet. 

If you asked me last week to rank my Spanish abilities on a scale of 1-10, 1 being not knowing a single word, and 10 being fluent, I would have said I'm about a 7. However, after three days of language training I'd tell you I'm a 3. I got put into an advanced district based on the language test I took right after I got my call. This means that we start at a higher level and dive deeper into the language quicker. This has been a bit of a challenge for me. Don't get me wrong, I have a good foundation of Spanish. I think it is a blessing to be where I am at. I would rather struggle with Spanish and learn new things than just have reviews for the next 6 weeks. Starting next week both of our daily 3 hour lessons will be completely in Spanish. It's a challenge, but I want to be challenged. I would rather be the worst in my district than the best. God doesn't ask people to do something if he doesn't know for a fact that they can do it. He wouldn't have asked me to go to Peru and speak Spanish if he didn't know for a fact that I can. 

The verse I started this email with is so powerful. The word disciple comes from a root word that means "Learner". I am constantly learning. Both spiritually and language wise, and I can't wait to see how I grow. 

"Hope of Israel, Zion's army, children of the promised day... Onward, onward, youth of Zion! Thy reward the victor's crown. Hope of Israel, rise in might with the sword of truth and right!" 

Today is my pday, so feel free to reach out! Also, reach out to my parents if you want to stop by and say bye before I leave next week 

-Elder Pohlman